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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29243541">The Cretan Prisoner</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Griselda_Gimpel/pseuds/Griselda_Gimpel'>Griselda_Gimpel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood &amp; Manga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Con Artists, F/F, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:40:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,070</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29243541</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Griselda_Gimpel/pseuds/Griselda_Gimpel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Garfiel gets taken in by a con artist, it's up to Paninya and Winry to get his money back.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Paninya/Winry Rockbell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Black Is Beautiful 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Cretan Prisoner</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chestnut_filly/gifts">Chestnut_filly</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>                Ed was Winry’s husband, and Paninya was Winry’s girlfriend. Neither Ed nor Paninya had any objection to this, both joking that Winry couldn’t help liking the other given their leg(s). So, while Ed stayed home with the kids, Winry headed to work at Atelier Garfiel, and Paninya went to her first job in a different part of Rush Valley.</p><p>                Paninya’s morning job involved roof repair. She finished up just before lunch time, so she figured she’d head over to Atelier Garfiel to have lunch with her girlfriend. She arrived to the sound of sobs. She followed the wails to the back office, where Winry was trying to comfort a distraught Garfiel, who was kneeling on the floor and clutching a tear-stained letter.</p><p>                “What’s wrong?” Paninya mouthed.</p><p>                Winry looked up from her efforts of patting Garfiel sympathetically on the back and mouthed, “I’m trying to figure that out.”</p><p>                Paninya’s focused zoomed in on the letter. Some people believed in tact; Paninya believed in getting results. Stepping forward, she stooped down and plucked the letter from Garfiel’s grasp. It read:</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>To My Love,</p>
  <p>                It is with great sorrow that I write to you. The funds you provided my intermarry should have been sufficient to free me from this wretched prison, but cruel Fate has waylaid me. The guard I had been bribing to aid in my escape has been transferred to the far southern border, and a new guard has taken his place. If I am to be free from the depths of this miserable obelisk, I will require further funds. I beseech you, my steadfast love, please provide my trusted intermarry with 10,000 cens so that I might join you in Amestris.</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Forever yours,</p>
  <p>The Cretan Prisoner</p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>                “Intermarry? Obelisk?” Paninya wondered. Then it clicked that the words the so-called Cretan Prisoner intended were ‘intermediary’ and ‘oubliette’.</p><p>                “You weren’t supposed to read that,” Garfiel protested. “His intermediary swore me to secrecy.”</p><p>                “Well, the secret’s out now,” Paninya said.</p><p>                “Please tell us what is going on,” Winry said. “Here, I’ll put some tea on.”</p><p>                While Winry handled the tea, Paninya directed Garfiel to the table. The whistle of the kettle blew, and Winry poured the water into the pot. While they waited for the tea to brew, Garfiel regained his composure. Then, with a cup in front of each of them, Garfiel related his story.</p><p>                “He’s an important personage in Creta,” Garfiel explained. “He was imprisoned by his political enemies, but he is able to communicate through an intermediary. He instructed his intermediary to find a beautiful, honorable man in Amestris to help arrange for his escape. His intermediary heard about me from my reputation. It’s a delicate situation, so he swore me to secrecy.”</p><p>                “And he needed money?” Winry asked.</p><p>                Garfiel nodded. “10,000 cens to bribe a guard to help him to escape. I sent the funds two months ago, but it’s all gone wrong.”</p><p>                “Beautiful, honorable, and <em>rich</em>,” Paninya said pointedly.</p><p>                “What do you mean?”</p><p>                “It’s a scam,” Paninya told him bluntly.</p><p>                “What?”</p><p>                “There’s no prisoner,” Paninya explained. “The intermediary is conning you. He’ll keep coming up with excuses to have you pay more and more until you get suspicious. Then he’ll pull a runner. Classic con.”</p><p>                “What?!”</p><p>                “It’s okay,” Winry said, giving him a sympathetic pat on his shoulders.</p><p>                “But-”</p><p>                “He took advantage of your honesty,” Paninya said. Then she cracked her knuckles. “Now, where can we find this intermediary?”</p><p>                Winry nodded firmly. “We’ll get your money back.”</p><p>                “He frequents the Bashful Chipmunk,” Garfiel said.</p><p>                “Will he be there tonight?” Paninya asked.</p><p>                “I would expect so.”</p><p>                “We’ll go tonight,” Winry said. “You point him out, and we’ll take it from there.”</p><p>                Paninya and Winry had actually been to the Bashful Chipmunk before, as it was Rush Valley’s most established gay bar. They arrived a half hour before Garfiel as planned and grabbed a high-top table together. Shortly before Garfiel was due to arrive, Paninya moved to Winry’s lap. To anyone watching, nothing more was occurring than Winry working hard on giving Paninya a proper hickey. However, what was really occurring was that they were doing careful surveillance of the bar.</p><p>                Garfiel arrived at the appointed time. He was a little jittery, and Paninya wished they’d had more time to have him practice his role. He was not a natural-born actor, by any means. Garfiel took a seat at the bar next to a dark-hair man. They were soon in a deep conversation, and that was Paninya and Winry’s cue.</p><p>                They’d instructed Garfiel to stall. He was to pretend that he wasn’t suspicious and was willing to pay but that he would need more time. When they go close enough to hear over the noise of the bar, they found Garfiel was playing his part, albeit stiffly.</p><p>                “I can’t pay yet,” he said.</p><p>                “He needs you,” the intermediary responded, and Winry frowned.</p><p>                “Mr. Yoki?”</p><p>                The man spun around and blanched when he saw Winry standing there. “Winry! What a, uh, coincidence.”</p><p>                “You know this man?” Paninya asked.</p><p>                “This is Mr. Yoki. I think I told you about him? He was traveling with Mr. Scar.”</p><p>                “Oh, him,” Paninya said. “Ready?”</p><p>                “Yes, I think I am,” Winry said.</p><p>                Acting in accord, Paninya and Winry stooped down and each grabbed one of Yoki’s ankles. Standing up in unison, they flipped Yoki upside down. A few quick shakes dislodged his money pouch. Paninya took it off of him and tossed it to Garfiel, who opened it up and took out 10,000 cens. Paninya and Winry dropped Yoki to the ground then. He scrambled to his feet, brushed himself off, and returned his now much deflated money pouch to his belt.</p><p>                “What’s all this about, Mr. Yoki?” Winry asked.</p><p>                “I needed the money,” Yoki whined. “What was I supposed do, join the circus?”</p><p>                “Why not?” Paninya asked. “It’s an honest living.”</p><p>                “Yes, weren’t Darius and Heinkel talking about putting one together?”</p><p>                “I’m sure you’d make a great clown,” Paninya assured him.</p><p>                “I’d come see you perform,” Garfiel added. “No hard feelings.”</p><p>                “Oh fine!” Yoki pouted. He stomped out of the bar and in the general direction of an honest living. Garfiel thanked Paninya and Winry profusely for their assistance. As the night was still young, and Ed had the kids, Garfiel flirted with the eligible bachelors while Paninya and Winry tore up the dance floor until it was time to head home.</p>
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